Why An Eight Team College Football Playoff Makes Sense, and Why It Matters for Akron

As the College Football Playoff pairings were being prepared for announcement, debate raged on in anticipation of who would make it.  Would Ohio State, fresh off a Big Ten Championship win get #4?  Would it be Alabama, who only had one loss to a championship contender?  How about USC, the Pac-12 Champion with a resume worthy of consideration?

One team not talked about much by the committee but plenty by fans was UCF, who finished 12-0 as champions of the AAC.  Despite going undefeated, they couldn't even crack the committee's top ten.

Of course, it's possible to fix all of this and settle the debates of who the best team is on the field.  It's this simple:

1. Eliminate one non-conference regular season game.  We don't need to see Ohio State or Alabama taking on Prairie View A&M.

2. Eliminate conference divisions - let's get the best teams in the conference championships, regardless of geographic location.

3. Give automatic qualifying bids to every Power 5 Conference Champion.  If you win the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, or SEC - you're in.

4. Take the two best non-conference champions and give them at large bids.  It's possible the two best teams in the country will come from one conference, so we need to factor that in.  The committee will select these.

5. Give the eighth spot to the highest ranked Group of 5 team, selected by the committee.

Step 5 is why it matters for Akron.   Currently, the Zips and every other Group of 5 team enters the season knowing that even if they win every game, they will have no shot at the Playoff or a National Championship.  For a team like Akron, a conference title and "good" bowl game are the ceiling...before they play a single snap.  Sure, most years the Group of 5 team will lose in the 1st Round.  But it's about giving them a shot, and knowing that every now and again, a David will knock off a Goliath, and it'll be glorious.  It's what makes March Madness a national phenomenon, and it's time that college football made it a part of its game.

In the end, you'd have a bracket looking like this:

1 - Clemson (ACC)
8 - UCF (AAC - Group of 5 Representative)

4 - Alabama (At-Large)
5 - Ohio State (Big Ten)

3 - Georgia (SEC)
6 - Wisconsin (At Large)

2 - Oklahoma (Big 12)
7 - USC (Pac-12)

The rest of the bowls can still be played too, because it is enjoyable to see an up-and-coming team like the Zips get a shot at a really good FAU team in a Bowl Game.  And who knows - maybe the Zips win, and they can dream a little bit more about being the next Group of 5 representative in the College Football Playoffs.

Besides, just look at that bracket...how fun would that be?